DisplayNameisRob

Thanks everyone. There seems to be rules...but like any rules, there are exceptions. I guess it would be niave to think I could learn this stuff so quickly. The good news is we have confirmed he has at least some genuine coins (including COA from the royal mint) - he has a few gold proof half crowns that he bought 30-40 years ago that appear to be worth considerably more than he paid for them now. But for the time being, he is not intending to sell. I guess my wife has these to look forward to as her inheritance Just one last question (for now). As he is Chinese, he has many chinese coins as well as british. Would foreign coins be less sought after in Britain? Or are there just as many collectors of foreign coins? Thanks for you help. Rob

Thanks, but surely being "ripped off" would only be the case if he had been told these things were worth more than they are. But he just likes these things. ... he probably has some of those porcelain dogs too I don't think he bought these items under the belief they were coins. (Although there may be some that he did!) I think he's just a bit of a magpie. Although it may be true that the "medals" will not have a resale value, my main reason for posting was to ask advice about how to differentiate a "coin" from something that is not. For example, the gibralter "coin" has "20 crowns" on it. How would i know that this was not a circulated coin? Or is it simply experience? For the record, he does have a large collection of actual coins but as stated on this thread, there doesn't seem to be a community for "commemoratives" hence me posting here. I've got a lot of questions about it...who knows, I might end up making my dad proud after all!

Hi All, First things first, I am not a coin collector (even though my dad tried to get me into it!) My elderly father-in-law, however, has quite a collection of silver and is understandably curious to know if he is sitting on highly sought after pieces or just shiney objects from around the world, so i'm helping him out. The problem is, alot of his items, although look like coins, are not coins at all. Commemorative medals? Ingots? I have no idea even if they are considered "collectables" at all. (I wont waste your time with those, although if anyone can point me to a more appropriate forum, it would be appreciuated) I have uploaded a handful of photos here So, I have a few questions that I hope you would be able to help me with... How do you define a "coin"? How do you define a "british coin"? (e.g. is Gibralter "British") How would we be able to tell if a "silver" coin is actually a fake? Is there an "idiots guide" to grading? Many thanks for your help. Rob